Sunday, January 15, 2012

These are just a few of the amazing words and feelings that describe what I
share with my Mommy everyday. She adopted me four years ago this February. We are very blessed and we have a wonderful 'blended pet family' of 7 dogs and cats, most of whom have been rescues. However, as I lay here thinking on my own gifts of a great home, I am also thinking of the fact that there are so many pets sitting in a shelter of some kind or another, or living on the streets, with very little time left to experience even one of those feelings. Today, it's time for a change. It is time for us to BE the change for animals. So today, I, Pixel Blue Eyes, am Blogging the Change for Animals.
There are many great shelters that do everything they can to rescue and adopt out animals with no where else to go, but they need our help so much. Mommy and I have helped raise funds and collect much needed food and comfort items for local shelters in our area, but that only helps these animals for a little while. What these precious souls need more than anything is a forever home. Like what I have. I give to Mommy as much as she gives to me. It is a two way love street. Imagine how it feels to have a sweet, smiling, loving face thrilled beyond belief to see you every single time you walk through the door.
Now...imagine Charlies' story below. Please read it. Think on it. And then find a way to act. I am helping 'Sharing Pet.com' promote a new kind of way to help shelter pets called 'Virtual Adoption', which you can get details for at the right of the screen.

Here is Charlie's story:

Charlie didn’t know why he was in there…he was an old guy
who’d had a bad time of it lately. As he
sat in his cell, the cold bars and cement floor was no comfort. He was half
blind, hungry, and not sure why things had gone so bad. All he wanted was to be
loved. In the last years of your life,
you always think, want and expect to have a nice home, family around you and
special times. Yet here was Charlie,
taking in his new small dwelling, no family, no nice warm home, no more special
times.

Then, a woman with a kind face came in, holding something.
She opened the cold metal door, telling Charlie someone had brought some stuff
for him. She put a bowl of food nearby
and placed down a soft looking bed on the cold cement as she coaxed him to come
and try it out. Nervously, Charlie came
over to her, wanting nothing more than to run out that open cell door. He reluctantly laid his old bones down on
what she had laid out for him. It was soft, not scratchy like so many things he had tried to call a ‘bed’ in
the past. It felt good on his old
bones. Just as he began to relax a bit,
she placed a warm blanket over him.
What was this…some kind of cruel joke?
Why was she being so nice to him?
Where did this stuff come from?
He took in a deep breath, closed his eyes, and waited for the dream to
end. Suddenly, he smelled the warm
fireplace that he used to lay by when he was young, he smelled all that
wonderful cooking that wafted from the kitchen that he often snuck into to get
a bite of chicken when Mom was making sandwiches, and he could almost feel all
the hugs he used to get from his girl.
He opened his eyes quickly and saw the woman still there with him,
gently petting his head.

“I know this is not home, but I hope we can make you
as comfortable as possible dear boy, until we find you a new home. A forever home,” she said.
Charlie realized he was smelling memories from the donated bed and blanket,
memories of another that had been loved like he was…but it was more than good
enough for Charlie, because for just a moment, he felt loved, comforted, and
just a bit like he was home.Be the Change for a dog like Charlie and adopt a homeless pet or 'Virtually Adopt' a pet. Either way, you are making a difference.Please view the list of other pet blogs below that are supporting "Blog the Change" Day today. Visit them and see how other pups like me are finding the joy of making a difference!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

What an exciting few days this has been for me! My little tiny tail hasn't stopped wagging all this time. I was honored by the website Dog Tipper to be their featured blog on Tuesday. Mommy and I got the email this weekend and we could not wait. We have been a fan of their site for a while and were able to link up with their dog blog directory. So many wonderful blogs listed there...believe me, I have visited several of them and cannot wait to connect with them somehow.
I think it is important to connect with other people and animals. I mean, we were meant to be together, weren't we? Pets and people go paw in hand. When we connect in something we care about, it makes our day brighter, our hearts lighter, and it can keep us from feeling isolated or alone. And my goodness, hasn't the internet opened the whole world to us? It's amazing!
Before I doggie digress too much, I just wanted to take this time to thank Paris and John at
Dog Tipper for being so awesome and for connecting with me. They are real dog lovers extraordinaire! Make sure to visit their site, and don't forget to come back and visit me real soon.

And for instant updates on my blog, silly photos or funny videos (I just posted a power packed Pixel video the other day - see the left side of my blog), please sign up to follow me on Twitter or my Facebook page. Hey, a dog has to stay connected, right?

Sunday, January 1, 2012

The new year always brings the hope of new possibilities, new challenges, and, I think, new opportunities to find happiness in life. Mommy and I don't usually make new year's resolutions, because it often just lends itself to disappointment or unnecessary pressures. I chose a long time ago to try and just have a positive attitude about my life, and let God bless where He will bless, and teach where He will teach. Each one of us has challenges we must face on a daily basis. Because I try to find the joy in everything (that is what a Pixel does!), my struggles usually are about simple things, such as which toy do I play with and run through the house squeaking, do I cuddle on Mommy's right side or her left, and should I wrestle with the cat now or after I eat.

But I have had more serious struggles to deal with in my life as well. My tail was docked without my permission when I was just days old (before Mommy found me and saved me), and so I have had terribly painful difficulties with my tail nub my whole life. Mommy still gets upset at the thought that this maiming could be done to puppies unnecessarily, but she and I have found ways to cope with it and make my life as great as we can. She and my wonderful veterinarian finally found a very helpful nerve pain medicine that has gotten rid of most of the tail pain. But all in all, I don't let that medical issue stop me from being the best dog and friend I can be to my family and others.

Mommy and I saw a story once about a woman that was in a tragic accident and became paralyzed. She had an amazing spirit of perseverance through this life changing challenge, and when asked how she dealt with being paralyzed, she said something like this: "Your life is not determined so much by what life brings to you...but by the attitude that you bring to life. It is not shaped so much by what happens to you, as by the way your mind and heart reacts with what happens to you. DO NOT FOCUS ON WHAT YOU CANNOT DO...FOCUS ON WHAT YOU CAN DO."

To me, that means keep wagging your tail no matter what happens in your life. Keep trying, keep looking at the blessings, gifts and abilities you have, not on the things you do not have. I know I will never have a nice long tail like other dogs, but I have a little tiny nub that I still can wag like crazy every time I see my loved ones. I can still laugh, smile, jump for joy, do lots of cool little tricks and find all the joy that is right in front of me. It sure makes my life happier. My hope for each of us this new year, is to find that happiness in life. Look for it. Seek it out. Hunt it down and cling to it for dear life...just like I do with my squeaky toys. And most important of all, don't forget to share it. Believe me, it is well worth it!